A Lost Tail
by Isella of the wolf tribe
Summary: I don't know if this is the category you would put this in, but I couldn't find a River Monsters category. Jeremy Wade decides to take a break from his camera crew for a while, letting them also take breaks. Unfortunately, his most elusive, most mystical capture happens while they're away. And even though they're coming, will they be too late to take footage of this creature?


Jeremy wade sat on the banks of a river in the US. He'd let his camera crew take the couple days off while he relaxed. But something wasn't right. He could feel it.

He reached and grabbed his line. He tugged at the line as tension pulled back. He finally got it, then dragged his catch to the shore. He sighed as he saw mud and grime.

"Another miss," he said out loud. He hadn't caught anything for a while. He was starting to want to fish someplace else. The crazy thing was, he saw so many fish in the lake, some would even jump out of the water. But none would bite his line. It was like they were taunting him...

He sighed as he started putting his fishing gear away. Just then, a car zoomed past on the dirt road near him. The car stopped and the window rolled down, revealing a couple young men.

"You trying to fish here?" The passenger asked. Jeremy nodded.

"Was," he replied. "I'm putting my gear away now, though. Nothing bit my lines."

"Yeah," the man driving the car said. "This entire river area. It's weird. You can fish in this river, but you can't catch anything in this section. It's good you stopped. One man in town tried for days, when he finally just gave up and blamed God." Jeremy nodded.

"But fish _are_ biting in this river?" He asked. The passenger and driver both nodded.

"Yeah, from a bit down from here all the way a bit past town is the only places you won't catch anything. Any area past that is tons of fish catching."

"Thanks," Jeremy said, grabbing up the rest of his gear. He got to his truck when he heard a splash. He turned his eyes to the water, barely glimpsing a huge tail flop into the murky water. He ran over to the water, but he had missed the fish.

He immediately drove home, getting out a book of fish and his sketchbook. He drew a picture of the tail he'd seen, then looked in the book for anything like it. Midnight blue, not very scaled looking, thin, and huge. He couldn't find anything similar. Had he discovered a new species? Now he had to just catch it. And call his camera crew.

First he contacted his crew. Then he went back to the river with his gear. He frowned at the water. He wouldn't be able to catch anything in these waters. But the fish was in there. He decided to talk to the people in the nearby town.

When he got there, he walked around. People would give him funny stares. He walked over to a lady wringing her laundry out to dry.

"Excuse me, do you know anything about the fish in this river?" The lady shrugged and hurried inside.

"_I_ do," Jeremy turned around to look at the neighboring house, the river right behind it. A teenager leaned over a white fence. She had blue eyes and a pale dress on. "Who are you?"

"I'm Jeremy Wade. I'm a-" he was cut short.

"Oh yeah! Jeremy Wade. Yeah, I know you. Come on in." She turned and opened the gate, then walked to the house. "Make sure to close the gate behind you." Jeremy followed, closing the gate, then walking into the house. The door shut behind him.

The teen walked into a kitchen. "So, what do you need to know about the fish? I don't know everything, but my dad used to be a fisherman. He shared a lot of information."

"Well, I was wondering about the big fish in the river," Jeremy replied.

"Oh! There are tons! Because none really bite the lines, they get bigger and bigger. And they can't be stopped because they can't be fished. Some people around here have actually succeeded, though. My father used to be the best!"

Jeremy looked surprised. "How'd they do it?" He asked.

"Nets. It _is_ illegal around here, but if you can get away with it, you _can_ catch fish. And the thicker the net, the bigger the fish. If you catch one. My father always said, 'If you want a fish, settle for what you get. These fish are elusive. If they see the net, they'll avoid it. So you use a thinner net. But then the bigger fish break it to pieces. So the thinner the net, the more often you have to check it.' His advice really did work, though. But all I'd catch was the smaller fish. The bigger ones always broke the nets. And as my papa said, when I used the bigger nets, the fish avoided them."

Jeremy was writing all the information down on his notebook.

"So, do you know what kinds of big fish are in the river? And do you know which is the biggest?"

"Well, not really the kinds. I know there are several species. A lot of people around who fish here claim to see a huge midnight blue tail splash in the water every once in a while. I don't have a clue what kind of fish that could be."

"When did people start claiming to see this fish?"

"Let's see... Five years ago? Yeah. That seems about right."

"OK. For a fish that big... Five years... Hmm... How big is this fish, do you think?"

"People claim it has to be around... Six or seven feet?"

"Have you had any problems with it?"

"Not that I know of." Jeremy nodded.

"Would you like to go fishing with me tomorrow? It'd be great to get some help on trying to catch this fish." The girl nodded.

"Oh! My name is Musume. Wata no Musume. It means daughter of the sea. A good name for a fisherman's daughter, no?" Jeremy smiled.


End file.
